What's in a Name

What’s in a name

 

Popular quote – by none other than William Shakespeare -  This got me thinking. Really what's in a name, after all if we were to call Dosa something else would I like it more or like it a little less. So as one thought led to another, I could not help but realize that in the recent past there has been an increase the number of restaurants serving “Authentic” cuisines across namma Bengaluru.  All at affordable prices.  You do have the ones which are kind of fine dining but there are many which are affordable and of course very good.  My thoughts were more from the south indian cuisines.

 

Yes, I was slowly realizing that this was a trend and was just amazed at this.  So I how would this have occurred.  Initially the craze was set by the “Darshini” fever which started sometime in early 80s and the fever really caught up in early 90s with Uphara Darshini starting it and we had every other restaurant to be name “Something – Darshini”.  Most of us would recollect that wave.   Then came the KFC (remember their first outlet on Brigade Road) which was perpetually crowded as now the people wanted to taste something international (After all Bengaluru was the IT Capital already).  As time passed more and more International Food joints cropped up in Namma Bengaluru.  So how could a normal Indian Entrepreneur reinvent his business and stay in business.   The answer was simple- By offering some good authentic Indian Cuisines and not to mention the international cuisines with some innovative names to the restaurants to attract customers or create interest. 

 

Just as a trip down the memory lane, after the Darshini we had some lull which was rekindled by the Shanti Sagars which became the place to be for affordable vegetarian food.  Yes,  the interiors, sofa seating, AC section and the Glass décor made people feel very good coupled with the fact that you could choose to eat north indian to south indian to some chaats / pav bhaji in the same restaurant meant more like family outings.  While the ones who could afford the slightly higher end restaurants continued to patron their favourites.

 

The trend has now seen some new players in the field who have provided a unique concept which actually existed only in a very few restaurants earlier (like theme based or Cuisine based restaurants) which has kind of caught peoples fancy.   Take for example South Indies – reminds me of the famous West Indian Cricket team but the food is purely south Indian which of course it has struck a chord with the people.  I would not be doing justice if I forget to comment on their tag line - quite unique and catchy.  To further substantiate there are restaurants named after the National Highways, Traditional Cooks/ Regions  and provide us with the cuisine of states (through which the highway runs or the name belongs).   These are now currently the talk of the town.

 

Another apt example would be Halli Mane in Malleshwaram which was quite a craze when it started for its meals as well as the snacks and continues to be so.  Not that the food is not available around malleshwaram but people liked the concept and somehow the connect was made.  All this is possible because of sustained quality.

 

Similarly, Kanua  on Sarjapur Road serves Konkani food  with a modern touch and ambience which I was pleasantly surprised at this and people are quite liking it based on the reviews on the popular websites.  

 

Not to be left behind now the small restaurants (small in the sense of not having multi city locations and not in terms of business) are using the local vernacular as their USP.  This strikes a chord with the localites as well as those who want to try local food at affordable prices.

 

Take a sample of this.   The names are like

1.       South thindies – Thindies being snack in Kannada
2.       Taaza Thindi - 
3.       Mane Thindi
4.       Ramana’s Coffee Thindi
5.       Thindi Mandi
6.       GPS Kaapi Thindi (not Coffee but Kaapi)
7.       Halli Thindi
8.       Anna Kutteera- (Rice Hut )

 

Yes, all these restaurants are kind of unique in their own sense and provide some good authentic food at some affordable prices and generally follow the Darshini concept.  Crowded most of the times as   well as serve as an outing for the young and the old alike.

 

To catch some of the young crowd, a few restaurants have a name some English Twists. Take for example “South Kitchen”, South Thindies, By 2 Coffee (earlier people used to order by 2 coffee just to catch up with friends and now represents a chain).  The business is quite brisk and they too have a loyal fan following.  

 

These restaurants now coexist with the regular darshinis as well as the likes of MTR, Vidyarthi Bhavan, Maiyyas etc .   So there has to be some connect with the name which is why these restaurants are very popular and have happy customers with a large fan following.  I have also noticed that in many discussions people argue that the Akki Rotti is very good in some place or the other and eventually end up having in both places and still not come up to a conclusion.   Nothing wrong after all you cannot decide the winner between a Vidyarthi Bhavan Dosa or CTR Dosa right.   We can debate that on a later date but for now the message is clear. Namma Bengaluru seems to have a liking for some local cuisine and how does the person recollect this -  All in the name. 

 

I started this with “Whats in a name” would like to end it with " Now I guess I know"

 

Best of both worlds

 

Living in south Bengaluru has its advantages.   This side of town has a lot of joints which dish out the traditional south indian staples like idly, vada, dosa and the like.  There are joints which have been in existence for a long time like MTR, Vidhyarthi Bhavan, Brahmins Coffee Bar etc which continue to serve the general public with not much changes in the menu and have their loyalists who swear by their food.

 

Then followed the Darshini trend in the 1990s which provided the affordability and proved to be a game changer.  New darshinis mushroomed all over Bengaluru making it the buzz word.   Affordability was something which made it an instant hit.  I recollect that the coffee would cost only Re.1 coupled with the fact that the food would be served fresh and hot making it like an indian fast food joints.   The only flip side was that there was no seating and it was self service.  People did not mind as it saved time and money.   The menu had a lot of choices which varied from idly &  dosas to gobi Manchurian to roti curry. All these were at affordable prices.   Those were the good times and slowly the fever died down and so did the number of darshinis.

 

Recently I noticed that there is a new generation of restaurants which have come up which not only focus on hygiene (not that the others don't) but also on affordability.  The trend seems to be catching up and South Bengaluru is currently witnessing this.  The idly vada and dosas are priced very reasonably and this is their USP .  This is kind of rekindling the Darshini Fever of the early 1990s

 

To name a few, The South Kitchen, Taaza Thindi, Iyengars Kitchen, By Two Coffee etc., are actually now changing the game with affordability and quality. 

 

To prove me right, these places are generally crowded even in the morning. Taaza Thindi is no different which has a separate queue for Masala Dosa. The primary factor apart from the quality would be the cost which is Rs.20 which otherwise would be at least Rs.30 in other restaurants if not more.  The dosa per say is quite good with a generous dose of ghee/ butter though the size could be a bit smaller than the traditional ones.  Generally in these restaurants the average price would not be not more than Rs.15 which makes the masala dosa the costliest item on the menu here.

 

Another similarity is that,  the kitchen follows the "open kitchen" concept and has display boards on the cleaning methodology which is a feel good factor for customers.  Taaza Thinidi also has a note on the dishwasher they use.  Impressive.  Not to be left behind South Kitchen has some cartoons of traditional vessels with some facts written on the wall providing the connect with tradition as well as provide local touch.

 

Can all this be too good to be true.  No there has to be a catch. Yes, the catch is that these restaurants have limited menu options for the customer. This can work to their advantages as they can focus on their strengths as well as turnaround faster and costs controlled.   A good breakfast would not be more than 30 minutes even if you factor in the crowd.  Yes, it can be a bit cramped though which is a small price to pay.

 

This trend seems to be catching up and it is really nice to know that while we do have a lot of restaurants which charge us for the ambience, there are restaurants which provide us with affordable options making it an instant hit with the old and the young alike.   Weekends or weekdays you would find people who would have just finished their quota of morning walk having a quick bite or the young college crowd binging on some idly/dosas. Not to mention people gossiping over a cup of strong south indian coffee.  Yes, over the weekend these places can turn out to be a family outing for breakfast. 

 

Now who would want to complain.  The customer seems to be getting choices on eating south indian food at affordable prices which keeps him smiling which in turn means benefits of economies of scale for the owner.  Seems like it is the best of both worlds.  Enjoy till good times last